Thursday, May 10, 2007

the Greeks have a word for it


P
ay attention please
    nothing up my sleeve
no sly tricks to deceive
or similar feats of legerdemain
    i kid you not!
    nothing underhand or over-the-top
nothing consequential (unless it must)
no lesson    proverbial or moral
    ultimately -- i tell you -- it's just-so
at or to hand willing and ready to go
neither frugal nor greedy
    none of your bally-hoo
by no means hard to tackle -- till it's actual
    tisn't fickle
as for your high-and-mighty doctrinal
    meant-to-baffle final proofs
that tickle intellectual fancy
    bag and baggage
both saintly and holy, even what you might call sortilege
    can be labelled "left luggage" without sacrilege
    nothing judgemental
found by measure or comparison,    big and small
    neither in detail nor as a whole
    only just-so    way-to-go!     plain-no-thrubble at all at all!
as for the pleasure, it's yours
    and the wonder
not to be wondered at, naturally
    unless what's what turns you silly with glee
although i admit to a loss of savoir-faire
    that bristles my hair
when its basilisk stare comes face to face
    or vice versa    take care
this normal state of affairs
    trial or pleasure will accompany you through the years
to be aware of in the daylight
to come upon in the darkness under the stars

mmvii

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